Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Program

The California Energy Commission is required by Public Resources Code Section 25942 to establish criteria for a statewide home energy rating program for residential dwellings. The goal of the program is to create a consistent, accurate, and uniform rating system based on a single statewide rating scale that can serve to differentiate the energy efficiency levels between California homes and to prioritize the investment in cost-effective home energy efficiency measures.

The first iteration of the California HERS regulations, which became effective on June 17, 1999, established the requirements for Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing services used to show compliance with the Title 24, Part 6; Building Energy Efficiency Standards. These regulations also established the basic framework for HERS Rater training, certification, and quality assurance.

The 2009 update to the HERS Regulations included the requirements for California Whole-House Home Energy Ratings. These Ratings apply to existing and newly-constructed residential buildings that include single-family homes and multi-family buildings of three stories or less. The HERS Regulations and the HERS Technical Manual establish a systematic process for the delivery of California Whole-House Home Energy Ratings to provide California homeowners and prospective home buyers with information about the energy efficiency of the homes they live in or homes they are considering for purchase. The Ratings also provide an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of options that can improve the energy efficiency in these homes.

The 2009 update of the HERS Regulations also established a special designation that goes along with the California Whole-House Home Energy Rating program called the HERS Building Performance Contractor. A HERS Building Performance Contractor includes a contractor who is licensed by the California Contractors State License Board as a Class B General Building Contractor and who are themselves, or who employ, a person certified as a California Whole-House Home Energy Rater who has successfully completed an Energy Commission-approved HERS Building Performance Contractor training program and who holds building science certifications from the Building Performance Institute (BPI). A HERS Building Performance Contractor evaluates the comfort and safety aspects of a home in conjunction with the home's energy efficiency in order to make and implement recommendations that will result in the best possible performance of a home for the occupant of that home.

The training and certification of HERS Raters conducting Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing services as well as HERS Raters conducting Whole-House Home Energy Ratings is administered by California Energy Commission-approved HERS Providers.

Energy Commission-Approved HERS Providers

Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing

The California Certified Energy Rating & Testing Services (CalCERTS) and the California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System (CHEERS) have been approved by the Energy Commission as HERS Providers to train and oversee HERS Raters providing 2008 Title 24, Part 6 Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing services. Although approved as a HERS Provider, CHEERS is currently inactive (see notice in red below).

CHEERS' Decision to Stop Accepting New Projects, as of October 15, 2010 - In consultation with the California Energy Commission, CHEERS has stopped accepting new projects that are subject to the 2008 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards, effective at midnight, October 15, 2010. CHEERS is taking this action because CHEERS is not in compliance with the August 2009 Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Regulations for data registry requirements. For more information, please visit the CHEERS website at www.cheers.org.

The California Building Performance Contractors Association (CBPCA) has also been approved by the Energy Commission as a HERS Provider to train oversee HERS Raters providing 2008 Title 24, Part 6 Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing services for Alterations. Along with CBPCA, Enalasys has been approved as a Third-Party Quality Control Program for Alterations.

If you are interested in utilizing or becoming certified as a HERS rater, please contact CalCERTS or CBPCA.

California Whole-House Home Energy Ratings

On July 28, 2010, CalCERTS was approved by the California Energy Commission as a HERS Provider to train and oversee HERS Raters conducting California Whole-House Home Energy Ratings and California Home Energy Audits for newly-constructed and existing buildings. CalRatePRO was also approved as HERS Rating Software.

Click here to find a list of CalCERTS-certified California Whole-House Home Energy Raters.

HERS Building Performance Contractors

On September 7, 2011, CalCERTS was approved by the California Energy Commission as a HERS Provider to train and oversee California HERS Building Performance Contractors.

Click here to get additional information from CalCERTS on the HERS Building Performance Contractor Program.

June 16, 2011, HERS Industry Update

June 16, 2011, HERS Industry Update on the Status of the CHEERS Certification for Newly Constructed Buildings for the 2008 building Energy Efficiency Standards (PDF File)

For More Information Contact:

The Title 24 Energy Efficiency Hotline
(800) 772-3300 or (916) 654-5106

Archived Documents